Hello and welcome to The Glenn Stewart Observer

After living in the Middle East for 27 years, Glenn Stewart has a unique insider’s perspective to the geo-political, cultural and business life of this strategic and volatile region.

The Doha Debates

Televised eight times a year by BBC World News, the Debates are based on a centuries-old format, refined by the famous Oxford Union. They focus on a single, controversial motion, with two speakers for and against. Once they have outlined their arguments, each speaker is questioned by the chairman and the discussion is then opened up to the audience for argument and a final electronic vote.Read more…

Wadah Khanfar: A historic moment in the Arab world

“As a democratic revolution led by tech-empowered young people sweeps the Arab world, Wadah Khanfar, the head of Al Jazeera, shares a profoundly optimistic view of what’s happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and beyond — at this powerful moment when people realized they could step out of their houses and ask for change”….or so says Wadah KhanfarWatch the video…

From Trinity Institute’s – A Conversation with Tariq Ramadan

Trinity Institute’s Bob Scott talks with Muslim author and academic Tariq Ramadan about religion and violence.One of the foremost voices of reformist Islam in the West, Ramadan argues that Western Muslims need to find theoretical and practical solutions to remain faithful to Islamic ethics while fully living within their societies and their time. He is a professor of Islamic Studies at Oxford University.Watch the video…